Environmental Enclosures, Systems, and Methods, for Use with Off-Grid Outdoor Power Systems

ABSTRACT

An environmental enclosure is disclosed. The environmental enclosure may include sidewalls defining an enclosure volume, each of the sidewalls having an internally facing surface and an externally facing surface, and a solar shield comprising a reflective surface. The solar shield is spaced a first distance externally from the enclosure volume and is connected to a sidewall. The first distance defines a portion of a flow area that is configured to produce stack effect draft. Further specialized civil works are also disclosed. Additional devices, systems, and methods are contemplated in the patent disclosure herein, including panel soiling detection and mitigation, cathodic protection, thermal management features, each including unique automation so that they may be used unattended in remote regions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/826,716, filed Mar. 29, 2019, the entirety of whichis incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

With a rise in the reliance on renewable energy, new challenges arise instoring energy at off-grid facilities. Such challenges include theconversion of stored energy, the distribution of stored energy, andsupplying stored energy to multiple sites. Today, off-grid energystorage systems allow multiple sites to store renewable energy locally.These systems allow off-grid facilities to rely on renewable energysources when available and allow for the use of locally stored energywhen needed. Further, off-grid storage systems may transfer the storedenergy at one site to another site as demand varies from site to site.

However, delivering the stored energy from one site to another site asDC power, for example, results in a noticeable loss of efficiency. Dueto this, a large amount of the energy stored at one site will be lostwhen it is transferred as DC power to another site. Additionally, whenan off-grid energy storage system malfunctions, the energy stored can nolonger be delivered to another site until the system has been repaired.This leaves a site without access to the stored energy until repairshave been made to the system.

A further complication for off-grid storage systems is thatinfrastructure equipment must operate in the harsh ambient conditions.Such infrastructure may include systems for monitoring, communication,measurement, regulation, protection, etc., of several types of end userequipment, such as pipeline equipment. Typically, though not required,these systems reside in remote areas without electrical gridinfrastructure for connection and power supply. Many locations are inregions with vast unpopulated territory, e.g., Africa or Middle Eastregions and their desert areas, tundra regions, etc. Other suchlocations may be at sea, polar regions, or similar extreme environments.

Due to the presence of extractable natural resources across suchunpopulated areas, a wide range of supporting infrastructure is needed,such as oil and gas, telecommunications, water, power and electricity,etc. Practically speaking, each of these types of supportinginfrastructures requires electricity. Therefore, power supplies usingfuel based generators (e.g., diesel generators) running nonstop, orautonomous power systems based on solar energy and battery back-up areoften required. Such autonomous power systems face many challengesincluding thermal management, air filtering, risk of death due to remotelocation, high operating expenses, high installation costs, low overallefficiency.

Accordingly, there remains a need for a simple, highly efficientenvironmental enclosure that addresses these challenges. In addition,long-term viability of such a system must be also taken intoconsideration.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Systems and methods related to environmental enclosure devices and smartinfrastructure management systems are disclosed.

Some embodiments are directed to an environmental enclosure. In someembodiments, the environmental enclosure comprises sidewalls defining anenclosure volume, each of the sidewalls has an internally facing surfaceand an externally facing surface, and a solar shield comprising areflective surface, the solar shield spaced a first distance externallyfrom the enclosure volume and connected to a sidewall, the firstdistance defining a portion of a flow area. In some embodiments, theflow area is configured to produce stack effect draft.

In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure comprises a batterywithin the enclosure volume. The battery can comprise one or more alead-acid batteries, lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries,potassium-ion batteries, nickel-based batteries, polymer-basedbatteries, polysulfide bromide batteries, silver-oxide batteries,metal-air silicon-air batteries, glass batteries, organic radicalbatteries, and rechargeable fuel cells, or various combinations thereof.

In some embodiments, the stack effect draft is proportional to one ofthe flow area and the square root of an effective height of the solarshield. In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure furthercomprises a solar shield disposed on a roof of the environmentalenclosure, and the stack effect draft is directed between the solarshield disposed on a roof of the environmental enclosure and the roof ofthe environmental enclosure. In some embodiments, the solar shield has asolar reflectance index configured to optimize reflectance. In someembodiments, the solar shield is substantially planar along the area ofthe wall, and is positioned substantially parallel thereto.

In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure includes a second solarshield comprising a reflective surface. The second solar shield can bespaced a second distance externally from the enclosure volume differentfrom the first distance, and can be connected to a sidewall. The seconddistance can define a portion of a second flow area. In someembodiments, the second flow area is also configured to produce a stackeffect draft. In some embodiments, the second distance is greater thanthe first distance.

In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure comprises a batterychamber within the enclosure volume configured to house a battery. Insome embodiments, the battery chamber includes insulated chambersidewalls defining a chamber volume, a chamber top wall enclosing thechamber volume, and a heat exchange system configured to maintain thechamber between about 15° C. and 30° C. In some embodiments, the outsidetemperature is between about −40° C. and 65° C., while the chamber ismaintained at an appropriate range. In some embodiments, the insulatedchamber sidewalls have an R-value specified to maintain a specifictemperature differential.

In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure comprises a heatexchange system. In some embodiments, the heat exchange system includesa fan disposed within the battery chamber. In some embodiments, the heatexchange system does not include a vapor compression system. In someembodiments, the heat exchange system further includes a fan disposedwithin the enclosure volume and outside of the battery chamber andconfigured to produce airflow across a heat sink in thermal contact withthe Peltier element. In some embodiments, an appropriate voltage isapplied across the Peltier element to dislodge particles attached to theheat sink. In some embodiments, the heat exchange system is configuredto cool the battery chamber when a temperature of the battery chamberexceeds a first threshold for a first duration. In some embodiments, theheat exchange system is configured to heat the battery chamber when atemperature of the battery chamber is below a second threshold for asecond duration, such that the temperature of the battery chamber isstabilized.

In some embodiments, the heat exchange system further comprises aPeltier element disposed between an inner surface of the battery chamberand an outer surface of the battery chamber, and the Peltier element isconfigured to selectively heat or cool the battery chamber. In someembodiments, the heat exchange system further comprises a heat sink inthermal contact with a surface of the Peltier element and in thermalcontact with a heat pipe, such that the heat sink transfers heat betweenthe Peltier element and the heat pipe. In some embodiments, the heatexchange system further includes a heat sink in thermal contact with asurface of the Peltier element. In some embodiments, the heat sink isdisposed within the battery chamber. In some embodiments, the heat sinkis disposed within the enclosure volume.

Some embodiments are directed to an environmental enclosure comprisingsidewalls defining an enclosure volume that includes a battery chamber,wherein each of the sidewalls has an internally facing surface and anexternally facing surface. In some embodiments, the environmentalenclosure includes a variable air intake disposed in a sidewall of theenclosure defining an air inlet for an airflow path. And a baffle can beincluded that extends from a top internally facing surface towards alower internally facing surface, and is configured such that a firstportion of air contamination is directed to the floor of the enclosurevolume. The environmental enclosure also comprises a cyclone systemdisposed downstream of the baffle. In some embodiments, the cyclonesystem includes an air intake configured to receive an air volume havinga second portion of air contamination, a cyclone generating zone, afirst conical outlet configured to remove the second portion of aircontamination, and a second outlet disposed within the first conicaloutlet and coupled to an air inlet of a battery chamber. In someembodiments, the second outlet provides clean air to the batterychamber.

In some embodiments, the variable air intake is disposed behind a solarshield connected to the externally facing surface of a sidewall. In someembodiments, the variable air intake is configured to open in responseto a first gage air pressure threshold. In some embodiments, the firstgage air pressure threshold is measured at a location selected fromwithin the battery chamber, within the enclosure volume, or external tothe enclosure volume. In some embodiments, the variable air intake isconfigured to close in response to a second gage air pressure threshold.In some embodiments, the second gage air pressure threshold is measuredat a location selected from within the battery chamber, within theenclosure volume, or external to the enclosure volume.

In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure comprises a fandisposed within the battery chamber configured to provide a suctionpressure to introduce clean air into the battery chamber. In someembodiments, the fan is configured to be put into an off-state inresponse to the variable air intake being closed. In some embodiments,the environmental enclosure includes a cleaning system configured toautomatically remove the first portion of air contamination from theenclosure volume.

In some embodiments, the baffle extends downward from the top internallyfacing surface between about 20% and 90% of the height of the enclosurevolume. In some embodiments, the baffle extends downward from the topinternally facing surface about 75% of the height of the enclosurevolume.

In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure further comprises aplurality of cyclone systems. In some embodiments, a subset of airintakes of the cyclone systems are configured to close in response to athreshold gage air pressure being detected in the enclosure volume. Insome embodiments, the air intake of the cyclone system is disposedsubstantially horizontally. In some embodiments, the first conicaloutlet and second conical outlet are positioned substantially normalthereto. In some embodiments, the air intake of the cyclones system isdisposed between about 5% and 50% below the height of the enclosurevolume as measured from the top internally facing surface. In someembodiments, the air intake of the cyclones system is disposed at mostat about 25% below the height of the enclosure volume as measured fromthe top internally facing surface. In some embodiments, theenvironmental enclosure includes a contamination collection vessel thatis removable from the enclosure volume.

Some embodiments are directed to a cyclone system configured to removecontamination from a heat exchange system airflow. In some embodiments,the cyclone system comprises an air intake configured to receive an airvolume flow, a cyclone generating zone configured such that air volumeflow particulate contamination can travel along a cyclonic paththerethrough, a first outlet configured to remove the particulatecontamination flowing through the cyclone generating zone, and a secondoutlet configured to allow fresh air to exit the cyclone system.

In some embodiments, the air intake of the cyclone system is disposedsubstantially horizontally, and the first outlet is conical. In someembodiments, the second outlet extends through a conical surface of thefirst outlet to exit the cyclone system. In some embodiments, the airintake closes in response to a threshold gage air pressure beingdetected in the enclosure volume. In some embodiments, the airspeedwithin the cyclone generating zone is at least about 10 meters persecond (“m/s”). In some embodiments, the relative airspeed between theair intake and the cyclone generating zone is adjusted appropriately. Insome embodiments, the relative gage air pressure between the air intakeand the cyclone generating zone is adjusted appropriately.

Some embodiments are directed to a method of making a modular enclosure.In some embodiments, the method includes disposing a base containerhaving a material cavity at a worksite, disposing a support columnwithin the base container configured to support a spar, the supportcolumn extending to at least a height of the base, and disposingsite-based material within the base container. In some embodiments,disposing the base container comprises placing a base containercomprising a polymer material. In some embodiments, the disposing thebase container includes placing a base container having a materialcavity defined by a substantially planar bottom surface, and a pluralityof sidewalls extending vertically therefrom. In some embodiments,disposing the site-based material comprises depositing site-basedmaterial selected from sand, rocks, and soil, and the site-basedmaterial sufficiently fills the material cavity volume to secure themodular enclosure in place.

In some embodiments, the method comprises removing site-based materialfrom the worksite creating a material void. In some embodiments, thebase container is disposed or otherwise positioned within the materialvoid.

In some embodiments, the method comprises placing an environmentalenclosure on one of the support column or the spar. In some embodiments,the support column is connected to a sidewall of the base container.

In some embodiments, the method comprises positioning an array ofsupport columns at peripheral points within the base container,positioning a first spar relative to a first set of columns, the firstspar being disposed in a first direction, and positioning a second sparrelative to a second set of columns, the second spar being disposed in asecond direction. In some embodiments, the first direction is differentfrom the second direction.

Some embodiments are directed to a cathodic protection (CP) systemcomprising at least one processor coupled to memory storing instructionsthat, when executed, cause the at least one processor to determine alength of a pipeline to be protected, determine a state of corrosion ofthe pipeline to be protected, determine a nominal voltage of directcurrent sufficient to prevent further corrosion of the pipeline to beprotected, within a predetermined corrosion tolerance, and maintain thenominal voltage of the direct current within a predetermined voltagetolerance, for example.

In some embodiments, the CP system can further comprise a centralcontrol unit configured to control one or more CP controllers remotely,for example. Additional embodiments of the CP system can include one ormore CP controllers configured to operate in a switched-mode topology.The CP system can be configured to adjust the nominal voltage of directcurrent from 100V to 0V and from 0V to 100V, across one or more CPcontrollers, in other embodiments.

Further embodiments of the CP system can detect a fault in the pipeline,determine a location of the fault in the pipeline, determine that thefault is a result of at least one of an electrode failure or thecorrosion in the pipeline, send a notification of the fault, andincrease the nominal voltage of the direct current supplied by the atleast one electrode nearest to the location of the fault in thepipeline.

Some embodiments are directed to methods for intelligent automatedmanagement of a cleaning system for optical elements in a solar powergeneration system. Such methods can include steps of determining, usingat least one processor, a present total capacity of photovoltaic powergeneration of a system; determining, using the at least one processor, apresent actual power measurement of the system; calculating, using theat least one processor, a difference between the present total capacityand the present actual power measurement of the system; determining,using the at least one processor, that the difference exceeds athreshold value; issuing, using the at least one processor, a firstcommand in response to the determining that the difference exceeds thethreshold value; and initiating, upon receipt of a second command fromthe at least one processor or another processor, an automated cleansingprocess with respect to at least one photovoltaic cell of the system.

In some embodiments, additional steps can be performed, includingelectrostatically polarizing an electrode adjacent to the at least onephotovoltaic cell, electromechanically engaging an irrigation mechanismadjacent to the at least one photovoltaic cell, electromechanicallyreorienting or repositioning the at least one photovoltaic cell withrespect to a fluid current, electromechanically reorienting orrepositioning the at least one photovoltaic cell with respect togravitational acceleration, and/or electromechanically reorienting orrepositioning the at least one photovoltaic cell with respect to ashelter structure.

Other systems, methods, features and advantages of the embodimentsdisclosed herein will be, or will become, apparent to one with skill inthe art upon examination of the following figures and detaileddescription. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods,features and advantages be included within this description, be withinthe scope of the embodiments disclosed herein, and be protected by thefollowing claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying figures, which are incorporated herein, form part ofthe specification and illustrate embodiments of the present disclosure.Together with the description, the figures further serve to explain theprinciples of and to enable a person skilled in the relevant art(s) tomake and use the disclosed embodiments. These figures are intended to beillustrative, not limiting. Although the disclosure is generallydescribed in the context of these embodiments, it should be understoodthat it is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure to theseparticular embodiments. In the drawings, like reference numbers indicateidentical or functionally similar elements.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional environmental enclosure.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of an environmental enclosureaccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the environmental enclosure shownin FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of the environmental enclosure shownin FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of a cyclone system according to anembodiment.

FIG. 6 a partial sectional view of an environmental enclosure includinga cyclone system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a heat exchange system according to anembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of the heat exchange system according to anembodiment.

FIG. 9 illustrates a partial civil works system related to anenvironmental enclosure according to an embodiment.

FIG. 10 illustrates an environmental enclosure according to anembodiment installed using a civil works system, as shown in FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method for intelligent automatedmanagement of a cathodic protection system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method for intelligent automatedmanagement of a cleaning system for optical elements in a solar powergeneration system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram depicting an example computer system usefulfor implementing various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of systems, methods, and devices for remote power,generation storage, and management addresses the significant challengefor extreme environments where this type of power conversion and storageis useful, such as oilfields in the Middle East, Africa, or arcticregions, for example. Environmental enclosures described herein insulatesensitive electronic components batteries from the harsh outdoorenvironments, such as, extreme heat, extreme cold, dust and debris,windstorms, etc. Balancing thermal management, system cleanliness, andpower efficiency are addressed by embodiments discussed herein.Additionally, safety and security, both of operations staff in theunderlying components within the enclosure are increased some of thedescribed embodiments.

As described above, due to the presence of extractable natural resourcesacross the unpopulated area a wide range of supporting infrastructure isneeded, such as oil & gas, telecommunications, water, power andelectricity, etc. Practically speaking, each of these types ofsupporting infrastructures requires electricity. In many cases,therefore, power supply using fuel based generators (e.g. Dieselgenerators) running nonstop, or autonomous power systems based on solarenergy and battery back-up.

Historically, however challenges including thermal management, airfiltering, risk of death due to remote location, high operatingexpenses, high installation costs, low overall efficiency, have all beenbarriers to effective usage of such autonomous power systems. Forexample, in the desert, extreme temperatures during the summer may reachup to 55° C. This results in cooling problems for various equipment,such as batteries. Air filtration is also a challenge, due to regularintensive sandstorms, which cause air filtering and photovoltaic (“PV”)generation problems. The extreme environment with excessive stress onall components, especially electrical components that may be sensitiveelectronics.

Additionally, due to the remote location and challenge to provideadequate security, expensive or otherwise valuable components of suchpower systems may be particularly vulnerable to theft, or damage. Inthis way, theft deterrent systems, camouflaging, autonomous remotemonitoring systems, etc., reduce risk of losing capital investment.

Moreover, traditionally the high operational expenses are barrier toentry for some systems. For example, in prior systems battery exchangemay be on an accelerated schedule such as once every two years. Thisrelatively high rate of replacement is in part due to the exposure tohigh operational temperatures. Typical batteries used in our operationsare designed to operate at an appropriate operational temperature of 25°C. Every 10° C. increase over an absolute operating temperature 25° C.reduces effective battery life twice. And relatedly, stolen batteriesmust be replaced unit outside of the normal replacement window. Indeed,embodiments disclosed herein extend the life of such batteries by about800%. For additional information about battery longevity, see, forexample, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/196,906, filed Nov. 20,2018, which is incorporated in its entirety herein.

High operational expenses are not limited just a hardware replacement.For example, regular maintenance is required to clean PV modules thathave been contaminated by the environment. This requires the personnelto travel to the site and visually inspect, and clean PV modules.Regular visits are required, and generally personnel do not know whethercleaning is required and thus may waste time and money traveling toremote site. On the other hand, if too long passes between cleanings,cleaning complexity may increase, as well as the PV efficiencydecreasing. Similar scheduling challenges are applicable to air filterreplacement. Use of diesel generators in some cases as an alternative toPV and storage (e.g., battery storage) is also expensive.

With respect to installation costs, for example in a desert environmentthat typically is a need for heavy and expensive concrete foundationsfor both the enclosure/shelter and PV system support construction.Construction does a complicated in that it requires providing formassive road stabilization for delivering the concrete foundationsthought he desert to the site, generally provides a need for a massiveroad stabilization on site for the crane erecting and installation ofthe concrete blocks and the shelter, not to mention the high cost forrenting/using the heavy equipment. And once up and running, some systemsmay suffer from overall lower efficiency due to the use of unfamiliarpower conversion equipment and lack of total overall remote monitoringand control capabilities

The embodiments described herein address these concerns and others.

Although specific configurations and arrangements are discussed, itshould be understood that this is done for illustrative purposes only. Aperson skilled in the pertinent art will recognize that otherconfigurations and arrangements can be used without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention. It will be apparent to aperson skilled in the pertinent art that this embodiments disclosedherein can also be employed in a variety of other applications.

It is noted that references in the specification to “one embodiment,”“an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” etc., indicate that theembodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesdo not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Further, when aparticular feature, structure or characteristic is described inconnection with an embodiment, it would be within the knowledge of oneskilled in the art to effect such feature, structure or characteristicin connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitlydescribed.

As used herein, ranges are inclusive of endpoints.

As used herein, “substantially,” and “about,” when used in combinationwith ranges, are used to include variation of around +/−5% of therecited value.

Cooling—Solar Shields

Turning to FIG. 1, container 1 is shown. As shown in figure, containerone shown environment with a schematic sunrays 20 impinging upon the topwall 4 and sidewalls 3 of container 1. Prior systems such as container 1are exposed to the elements, including radiation and heat from the sun,stress and wear from dust and sandstorms. In this way, improvements arerequired for them to be a viable option the house sensitive electroniccomponents, batteries, power generation, power storage, and othercritical infrastructure in such environments.

Sun beams hit the surface of the container 1 directly, thus leading toimmense heating of the whole container. The overheating leads to vastshortening of the battery life, as well as the life span of allelectronics and materials involved in the construction. This alsocontributes to high operating expenses (“OPEX”) due to the frequentreplacement of components, transportation, shipping, maintenance, manhours, etc. Without such protection, it is more likely for the equipmentto overheat. Indeed, in general, the rougher and darker a surface is,the more heat it absorbs. Most standard container solutions havewrinkled metal sheet walls. These types of walls do not reflect the sunbeams, instead they absorb them. Almost all of the emitted energy by thesun that makes contact with the container's surface is absorbed, thusleading to immense heating. The walls are completely enclosed and haveno air circulation in the walls. The environmental enclosure shown inFIGS. 2-4 solves these issues.

As shown in FIGS., system 10 is shown. In some embodiments, system 10can include an enclosure 100. Some embodiments, enclosure 100 includes atop solar shield 102, one or more side solar shield 104, and one or morelower solar shield 106. In some embodiments, one or more of top solarshield 102, side solar shield 104, or lower solar shield 106 areconstructed as solar shields. Utilizing solar shields protect the insideof the enclosure 100 from the solar radiation emitted from the sun,during the day. In some embodiments, the solar shields are constructedusing a highly reflective, mirror surface. In this way, solar shieldsreflect the rays of the sun throughout the day.

Moreover, the solar shields not only reflect the sun beams throughoutthe day, but also create shade, which is very important. In someembodiments, the solar shields are constructed to have a largetemperature resistance. In this way, only a very small amount of heatcan pass through the material, because of its relatively large thermalresistance.

Thermal resistance is a heat property and a measurement of a temperaturedifference by which an object or material resists a heat flow. Thermalresistance is the reciprocal of thermal conductance. Thermal resistance(e.g., absolute thermal resistance) “R” in Kelvin per Watt (K/W) is aproperty of a particular component. By selecting materials with largethermal resistance, the inside enclosure 100 can be designed to achieveappropriate ambient interior temperature. Utilizing solar shields thatare specially positioned to ensure proper cooling of the protectivesurface as well as protection from the sun beams and emitted radiationincreases the lifespan of all materials, electronics, and the batteries.This solution obtains a very large OPEX cost reduction.

Another benefit of using highly reflective surfaces for walls 102, 104,106 is that the entire enclosure 100 effectively camouflaged from theoutside, including from aerial views. This makes it less likely thatenclosure 100 will be targeted for damage sabotage, or theft ofcomponents, such as large and valuable batteries that serve as energystorage. This too, and save on OPEX cost in the long run, and expensiveequipment does not need to be replaced as often. Reflecting solarshields, when seen from a long-distance, render the enclosure 100, i.e.shelter, optically invisible in the desert. In some embodiments, ahidden door may be provided (see FIG. 10, “SO”), preventing therecognition when approaching enclosure 100. In some embodiments, no doorhandles are provided and hidden locks, e.g. electromagnetic or serverlocks may be used on the inside of the door. In some embodiments remoteor wireless lock control such as RFID, wireless card, or GSM/remotecontrol may be used to lock and unlock enclosure 100.

Remote monitoring of the site is also contemplated, including cameras,3D cameras, ultra-sonic sensors, proximity sensors, thermal cameras,image processing algorithms, etc. In this way, remote monitoring canincrease security to the remote location. Moreover, remote monitoring ofPV modules allows for decreased or optimized visits to clean the PVmodules to maintain sufficient efficiency.

As shown, environmental enclosure 100 includes sidewalls defining anenclosure volume. Each of the sidewalls has an internally facing surfaceand an externally facing surface, and a solar shield comprising areflective surface. As shown in the figures, the side solar shields104/106 are spaced a first distance externally from the enclosure volumeand connected to a sidewall, the first distance defining a portion of aflow area, where airflow 30 is shown. In some embodiments, the flow areais configured to produce stack effect draft such that airflow 30naturally is drafted between the solar shield and the sidewall of theenclosure 100. In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure includesa battery 501 within the enclosure volume comprising at least one of alead-acid battery, lithium-ion battery, sodium-ion battery,potassium-ion battery, nickel-based battery, polymer-based battery,polysulfide bromide battery, silver-oxide battery, metal-air silicon-airbattery, glass battery, organic radical battery, and rechargeable fuelcell. These components are typically the most expensive component forthe infrastructure environmental housing.

With reference to the stack effect draft, in some embodiments, the stackeffect draft is proportional to one of the flow area and the square rootof an effective height of the solar shield. As used herein, “flow area”is used to denote an area of flow, e.g., airflow. As used herein,“effective height” is used to denote an effective height or length of asurface, which is configured to achieve a particular stack effect draft.In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure 100 includes a solarshield 102 disposed on a roof of the environmental enclosure, the stackeffect draft is directed between the solar shield disposed on a roof ofthe environmental enclosure and the roof of the environmental enclosure.In some embodiments, the solar shield 102/104/106 has a solarreflectance index configured to optimize reflectance. In someembodiments, the solar shield is substantially planar along the area ofthe wall, and is positioned substantially parallel thereto.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example, environmental enclosure 100includes a second solar shield 106 comprising a reflective surface.Second solar shield 106 is spaced a second distance externally from theenclosure volume different from the first distance. Similar to solarshield 104, the second solar shield 106 is connected to a sidewall, thesecond distance defining a portion of a second flow area. Again, issimilar to configuration of solar shield 104, the second flow area isconfigured to produce stack effect draft. In some embodiments, thesecond distance is greater than the first distance or less than thefirst distance. In general, moving from the ground upwards, eachsuccessive solar shield is disposed further way from the wall ofenclosure/container. In this way, multiple airflows 30 can be disposedvertically along entire surface of the sidewall of theenclosure/container, and each may provide an optimized stack effectdraft.

In some embodiments, top solar shield 102 can include a flange portion108, which extends past the uppermost solar shield 104, and which may bedisposed above the roof of the enclosure/container such that anadditional stack effect draft and airflow 30 can be provided between theroof of enclosure/container and the top solar shield 102.

Turning to FIG. 4, in some embodiments, the environmental enclosure 100includes a battery chamber 500 within the enclosure volume configured tohouse a battery 501. Some embodiments multiple batteries 501 are used inan array. In some embodiments, the battery chamber 500 includesinsulated chamber sidewalls defining a chamber volume, with a chambertop wall enclosing the chamber volume. In some embodiments, a heatexchange system (see FIGS. 7 and 8) is configured to maintain thechamber between about 15° C. and 30° C. In some embodiments, theinsulated chamber sidewalls have an R-value specified to maintain aspecific temperature differential.

Air Filtration System

Prior systems that house our generation storage equipment such asbatteries 501, struggled to rely on traditional air filtration systems,e.g., systems and physical filters that need to be cleaned, and/orreplaced with regularity. As described above, the extreme environment ofthe desert and other remote locations

The purpose of using air-filtering system without any filters is toclean the air from any potentially harmful particles, which can causefaults in the electronics, for example by fouling some coolingcomponents, or simply decreasing the efficiency of the system. Indeed,in many cooling systems, fans can be an important part of the coolingprocess of the equipment. That is, they require certain cleanness of theenvironment in which they work. If the fans are working in a muchpolluted environment, cleaning of the air is needed in order hasguarantee for proper working of the electronics without any problems.Particles with size over a particular threshold level can causeinefficiency, or failure of the fans or of the equipment. Additionally,because the particles in the air can be conductive or electrostaticallycharged, they may stick to surfaces within the enclosure be difficult toremove or adjust for.

Turning to FIGS. 3 and 4, enclosure 100 is configured such that airflow30 must travel relatively long way from the entrance to enclosure 100 tothe cooling system. In some embodiments, enclosure includes a cycloneair filtering system 400. The distance and pathway from the inlet toenclosure 100 to cyclone air filtering system 400 is also configuredsuch that particulates are removed from airflow.

With reference to FIG. 4 at the right side of the figure, the first stepin the air cleaning process is the airflow path 300 impacts solarshields 104/106. With this impact, the largest particles not enter intoenclosure 100 at all. However, the airflow is only clean of the largestparticles at this stage. As the airflow is drawn by the stack effectdraft, it may pass through inlet 116, if dampers 114 are open. Theairflow then follows generally airflow path 301.

As shown in figures, airflow path 301 next and is upon baffle 118 as thefirst obstacle within the enclosure 100. As the airflow travels alonggeneral airflow path 301 other larger particles 310 precipitates out ofairflow and settle on the bottom of the enclosure 100. As is apparentfrom FIGS., the airflows progressively cleaner moves through enclosure.General airflow past 302 is shown traveling generally upward andprecipitating out articles 312. Airflow path 30 to lead the airflow intothe cyclone air filtration system 400, towards the top of enclosure 100.As the airflow enters cyclone air filtration system 400 partial cutawayview shows internal airflow path 303 precipitation of the relativelyfine particles 314 and the floor of enclosure 100.

As shown, airflow path 304 is introduced into an area prior to batteryenclosure 500. The airflow path 304 has been cleaned, without using anymembrane filters, etc., to degree that is acceptable to be used, alongheat sink 604. In some embodiments, airflow path 304 does not enterbattery chamber 500. Rather, battery chamber 500 is sealed, using aninternal fan 602 to circulate isolated airflow within the chamber. Insome embodiments, battery chamber 500 can be open, and may introduceairflow path 304.

Baffle 118 can be disposed at the top of enclosure 100, for examplemounted to the ceiling. In some embodiments, additional baffles 118 canbe used, either with the same size or different sizes, symmetrical orasymmetrical spacing, and in various configurations. In someembodiments, baffle 118 can be disposed at the bottom of enclosure 100,for example extending upwards from the floor, or in some embodimentsextending outwardly from the internal side enclosure 100. In someembodiments, baffle 118 can be omitted.

Environmental enclosure 100 again includes sidewalls defining anenclosure volume. Each of the sidewalls having an internally facingsurface and an externally facing surface. In some embodiments, theenvironmental enclosure 100 includes a variable air intake 116 disposedin a sidewall of the enclosure defining an air inlet for an airflowpath. Baffle 118 extends from a top internally facing surface towards alower internally facing surface. Some embodiments, baffle 118 can extendsubstantially vertically. In other embodiments, baffle 118 can bedisposed at an angle relative to vertical. In embodiments using pluralbaffles 118, combination of substantially vertical or vertically offsetbaffles 118 is contemplated.

Baffle 118 is configured such that a first portion of air contaminationis directed to the floor of the enclosure volume. In some embodiments,cyclone system 400 is disposed downstream of baffle 118. Baffle 118 candirect airflow 301 straight down to the bottom of enclosure/container200. In some embodiments, relatively large particulates 310 canprecipitate without contacting baffle 118. Relatively large particulates310 can then fall to the floor. In some embodiments, the baffle extendsdownward from the top internally facing surface between about 20% and90% of the height of the enclosure volume.

As airflow path 301 reaches the bottom of enclosure 100, another largeamount of relatively large particles precipitates, and the airflow speedmay be reduced significantly. As airflow continues, it is directedupwards along airflow path 302. As a travels upward, only the finestparticles are able to follow airflow path 302 upwards, because the restare too heavy. As the airflow travels, the airflow speed is slowed,appropriate speed to enter cyclone system 400. The volume of enclosure100 can be selected such that it is sufficiently large to slow theairflow speed down appropriately for the entrance into cyclone system400. In doing so, that ensures that there is enough time for the air tobe appropriately cleaned and filtered.

Once processed through cyclone system 400, airflow continues alongairflow path 304 and into the battery in system compartments. In someembodiments a fan is installed and one or more of these compartments. Anarray of fans may also be provided. In this way the stands may providemovement of air within enclosure 100. Air may travel generally frominlet 116 (e.g. variable air intake 116) along the various airflow path,and out outlet 112. Airflow is controlled such that air enters into thecompartments through the cyclone system 400. In some embodiments, thisis controlled by measuring the pressure within the compartment, andadjusting, for example dampers 114 or the speed of the fan.

In some embodiments, the variable air intake 116 is disposed behind asolar shield 104 connected, for example by member 110 to the externallyfacing surface of a sidewall. In some embodiments, the variable airintake 116 is configured to open in response to a first gage airpressure threshold. In some embodiments, the first gage air pressurethreshold is measured at a location selected from within the batterychamber 500, within the enclosure volume, or external to the enclosurevolume. In some embodiments, the variable air intake 116 is configuredto close in response to a second gage air pressure threshold. In someembodiments, the second gage air pressure threshold is measured at alocation selected from within the battery chamber 500, within theenclosure volume, or external to the enclosure volume.

In this way, for example, if the environmental conditions are very harshsuch as a sandstorm, the variable air intake 116 can be configured toautomatically adjust or close completely dampers 114. Dampers 114 serveas automatic ventilation shutters. In some embodiments, dampers 114 arecontrolled by a microcontroller unit (MCU) of the system. For additionalinformation, see, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/385,627, filed Dec. 20, 2016, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,965,016, eachincorporated in its entirety herein.

In some embodiments, a plurality of sensors is used to take differenttypes of measurements (e.g., temperatures, pressures, airspeed,humidity, electrostatic measurements, voltage or current measurements,etc.). An algorithm then decides whether the dampers 114 are open andthe fans are running, or not. In this regard, the entire enclosure 100protected from the polluted air outside, in case of a sandstorm or incase of significant increase of the wind speed. During a sandstorm thewindspeed increases significantly, and it is possible for trash to enterenclosure 100 is intake 116 is not closed. Additionally particulatesthat have already precipitated on the floor of the enclosure 100 can belifted and blown around the interior. A windspeed sensor may beprovided, and a controller may control the system based on aprogrammable threshold. This threshold can be adjusted in accordance tothe environment, in order to ensure proper operation of the shutters incase of a sandstorm or other environmental event.

In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure 100 includes a fan 602disposed within the battery chamber 500 configured to provide a suctionpressure to introduce clean air into the battery chamber. In someembodiments, the fan 602 is configured to be put into an off-state inresponse to the variable air intake 116 being closed. In someembodiments, the environmental enclosure 100 includes a cleaning systemconfigured to automatically remove the first portion of aircontamination from the enclosure volume. The system may include forexample a static system vibration system long lower portion of theinterior sidewalls or floor of enclosure 100. The system may alsoinclude, for example an automated brush system or trapdoor, for example.

In this way, remote cleaning and maintenance may be possible, thusfurther reducing operating expenses. Indeed, when the amount of theparticles reaches a certain level (e.g., volume, height from the floor,etc.) as measured by a sensor, the MCU can provide a signal for openingthe door. When the door is opened the precipitated particles fall offfrom the enclosure 100. The motive force may include, for exampleultrasonic energy. In some embodiments, battery chamber 500 can alsohave trapdoor that functions the same way. In this way, battery chamber500 can be cleaned automatically such that the particulates insidebattery chamber 500 can be moved to the bottom of enclosure 100. Insidefloor of enclosure 100 also can have a self-cleaning function. Inaddition or substitute to ultrasonic systems, the self-cleaning motiveforce may include, for example brushes, movable barriers, electrostatic,etc.

Air Filtration—Cyclone System

In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure further includes aplurality of cyclone systems 400. In some embodiments, a subset of airintakes of the cyclone systems 400 are configured to close in responseto a threshold gage air pressure being detected in the enclosure volume.

Turning to FIG. 5, an exemplary cyclone system 400 is shown. In someembodiments, the air intake 402 of the cyclone system 400 is disposedsubstantially horizontally. In some embodiments, a first outlet 410 ispositioned substantially normal to air intake 402. In some embodiments,a second outlet is provided, and may be positioned substantially normalto air intake 402. In some embodiments first outlet 410 can be conical.Air intake 402 of the cyclone system is disposed at most at about 25%below the height of the enclosure volume as measured from the topinternally facing surface, in some embodiments. Air intake 402 of thecyclone system is disposed between about 5% and 50% below the height ofthe enclosure volume as measured from the top internally facing surface,in some embodiments In some embodiments, the environmental enclosure 100includes a contamination collection vessel that is removable from theenclosure volume.

Cyclone system 400 can intake air through air intake 402 port andthrough the cylindrical portion 404 and into cyclone generating portion406, which can be configured as a conical portion. In this way, thecyclone system 400 is used to separate the very fine particulate, suchas sand particles, from the clean air. As the airflow that includes thevery fine particulate enters here intake 402 port the airflow is routedin a rotational flow path due to the funnel shape of the main body ofthe cyclone system 400, between cylindrical portion 404 and the functionof conical portion 406. As the airflow rotates, the centrifugal and/orcentripetal force accelerates the last remaining very fine particulate.Particulates begin to rotate relatively close to the walls on theinterior of the cyclone system 400, and as they reach the cone shapedportion 406 that becomes narrower and narrower moving downward,particulates are accelerated further and exit cyclone system 400 throughoutlet 410. In some embodiments, a collection means may be provided tocollect particulates the exit through outlet 410.

In some embodiments, fresh airflow exits through outlet 408, forinstance into battery chamber 500, or into the portion of enclosure 400and isolated and contained battery chamber 500. In some embodiments,outlet 408 can include a screening or filter, or other collection meansconfigured to collect any particulates that for any reason do not exitthrough outlet 410. In some embodiments, outlet 408 is configured as atube that intersects extends through conical portion 406. In someembodiments conical portion 406 can be formed semi-conically. In someembodiments, the cyclone generated within the airflow inside cyclonesystem 400 can be configured such that when generated the center of thecyclone aligns with the interior opening of outlet 408 such that cleanairflow is pulled directly from center of the cyclone within cyclonesystem 400. In some embodiments, air intake 402 is configured to receivean air volume having a second portion of air contamination. In someembodiments, the conical portion 406 is configured as a cyclonegenerating zone.

In some embodiments, cyclone system 400 is configured to removecontamination from heat exchange system 600 airflow 802. (See, e.g.,FIGS. 7 and 8.) In some embodiments, air volume flow particulatecontamination can travel along a cyclonic path through cyclone system400. As described above, a first news outlet configured to remove theparticulate contamination flowing through the cyclone generating zone,and a second outlet is configured to allow fresh air to exit the cyclonesystem.

In some embodiments, the air intake 402 of the cyclone system 400 isdisposed substantially horizontally, and the first outlet 410 is conicalor at least connected to conical portion 406. In some embodiments, thesecond outlet 408 extends through a conical surface of the first outletfor 10 or conical portion 406 to exit the cyclone system. In someembodiments, the air intake 402 closes in response to a threshold gageair pressure being detected in the enclosure volume. In someembodiments, the airspeed within the cyclone generating zone 406 is Insome embodiments, the airspeed within the cyclone generating zone is atleast about 10 meters per second (“m/s”). In some embodiments, therelative airspeed between the air intake and the cyclone generating zone406 is calibrated accordingly, such as to a predetermined ratio, forexample. In some embodiments, the relative gage air pressure between theair intake 402 port and the cyclone generating zone 406 is calibratedaccordingly to a predetermined ratio.

In some embodiments, multiple cyclone systems 400 can be provided withinenclosure 100. Indeed, the usable volume of clean air, e.g., for usewith exchange system 600, for example, may be increased based on numberof cyclone systems 400 that are provided within enclosure 100. As such,a larger number of cyclone systems 400 can increase lifespan of allequipment housed within the separate compartments, e.g., batteries,controllers, etc. As described above, cyclone generated within cyclonesystem 400 depends upon a particular airspeed generated inside cyclonesystem 400. In some embodiments, that internal airspeed may becontrolled by one or more fans, for example fans pulling air through aheat sink in heat exchange system 600. Design parameters include, forexample the air debit of the fans, the volume required for clean air,and placement of cyclone systems 400.

In some embodiments, cyclone systems 400 are mounted in such way thatthe air intake 402 is positioned relatively high within enclosure 100.In this way, air intake 402 is positioned high, such that the airflowpath prior to air intake 402 sufficiently long such that largerparticulates are not able to reach air intake 402 of cyclone system 400.As shown in FIG. 6, one or more arrays of cyclone systems 400 can becoupled to particulate collection means, such as particulate containers415. Particulate containers 415 can be configured to be automaticallycleaned or removed, or simply uncoupled from cyclone system 400 toremove collected particulates a clean from airflow within cyclone system400.

In some embodiments, cyclone system 400 can be configured such that theoverall footprint of an individual cyclone system 400 can partially orwholly overlap the overall footprint of a second cyclone system 400.That is, individual cyclone systems 400 can be coupled together in anested fashion, thereby saving space and providing an efficient aircleaning solution without the need for screens, or other membrane typefiltration systems. In utilizing several cyclone systems 400, airflow isfiltered and cleaned in a very efficient manner, minimizing consumptionof energy due to the usage of very small fans and the cyclonic action ofcyclone systems 400. As is apparent, the system removes any need formaintenance such as changing or cleaning any filters. And because of thelower power consumption, battery requirements may be calculated forsmaller output. The operational expense savings for sending maintenancecrews to the field for regular maintenance is also decreased. Andchallenging and aggressive environments in which enclosure 100 isdeployed, air filtration system utilizing the labyrinth airflow path intandem with cyclone system 400 remains a reliable way to provide forclean air within enclosure 100.

Cooling—Passive Cooling Via Semiconductors

Inside enclosure 100, and particularly inside battery chamber 500,additional cooling may be required to maintain batteries and othersensitive equipment at an appropriate ambient temperature. Activecooling, such as through a vapor compression system, suffers fromefficiency losses, added complexity, and cost. More passive solutions,such as purely heat sinks without any airflow may not produce enoughtemperature differential such that the target ambient temperature isachieved. Embodiments disclosed herein solve these problems.

In some embodiments, heat exchange system 600 can be configured as asemi-passive cooling system, heat sinks, heat pipes, and/or Peltierelements in particular arrangements. In this way, the exchange system600 maintains a stable temperature inside the battery chamber 500, evenwhile enclosure 100 can be placed in the harshest desert conditionspossible. As discussed above, battery chamber 500 can include insulatedwalls and may be completely enclosed, further preventing the outsidetemperature to reach inside the battery chamber 500.

A Peltier element is a semiconductor element that can act as a heater,or a cooler depending upon the voltage applied across the terminals. Theelement generally includes a plurality of semiconductors that areenclosed in a casing with two ceramic plates, which are insulated, e.g.,by a latex compound from each other. This insulation removes the chanceof having a thermal bridge between the ceramic plates, thus leading toimproper operation of the Peltier element. When voltage is applied tothe Peltier element one of the plates is heated, and the other is cooleddown. If the hot plate is properly cooled down, that is, rejects heat,the cold plate will be able to absorb more heat due to its coldertemperature and lower energy. In some embodiments, the Peltier systemmay be DC powered. In some embodiments, it may include a power back-up.

Heat exchange system 600 is thus optimized in terms of size and powerconsumption. Low power fans and Peltier elements have a very lowconsumption in comparison to a standard air conditioner such as a vaporcompression system or a different type of cooling method.Advantageously, like the cyclone system 400, no filters are required inthis system (unlike a standard vapor compression system airconditioner). The biggest advantage is that the cooler practicallyrequires almost no maintenance. It has heat sinks, which are cleanedelectrostatically. Very high voltage is used, which changes the polarityof the particles attached to the head sink. With the change of theirpolarity, the particles are repelled from the heat sinks' surface andblown outside by a fan.

Turning to FIGS. 6 and 7, some embodiments, the environmental enclosure100 includes a heat exchange system 600. In some embodiments, heatexchange system 600 includes a fan 602 disposed within battery chamber500. In some embodiments, heat exchange system 600 includes anadditional fan disposed outside battery chamber 500, downstream ofcyclone system 400. In some embodiments, heat exchange system 600 doesnot include a vapor compression system. In some embodiments, heatexchange system 600 further includes a fan disposed within the enclosurevolume and outside of the battery chamber 500 and configured to produceairflow across a heat sink 604 in thermal contact with a Peltierelement.

As shown, heat sink 604 can be coupled to heat pipe 608 for examplethrough coupling element 612. In some embodiments multiple heat pipesmay be connected to the same heat sink 604, thereby increasing thermalrejection efficiency of the system. In general, heat exchange system 600includes a heat rejection side outside of battery chamber 500, and heatabsorption side within battery chamber 500. That is, within batterychamber 500, heat sink 606 absorbs heat produced by batteries 501 andother assorted components transferring that he heat pipe 610. Heat pipe610 and heat sink 606 are coupled together coupling element 614. Heatpipes 610 are in turn mounted to base 618. Base 618 is coupled to a coldside 704 of the Peltier element. Cold side 704 works with hot side 702of the Peltier element in order to transfer heat from within batterychamber 500 to the exterior of battery chamber 500, thereby maintainingan appropriate ambient temperature within battery chamber 500.

In some embodiments, an appropriate voltage is applied across thePeltier element to dislodge particles attached to one or more of theheat sinks. In some embodiments, the heat exchange system 600 isconfigured to cool the battery chamber 500 when a temperature of thebattery chamber 500 exceeds a first threshold for a first duration. Insome embodiments, the heat exchange system 600 is configured to heat thebattery chamber 500 when a temperature of the battery chamber 500 isbelow a second threshold for a second duration, such that thetemperature of the battery chamber 500 is stabilized. As used herein,the discussion of temperature “stabilization” relates to controlling atemperature within a predetermined volume.

In some embodiments, the heat exchange system 600 further includes aPeltier element including hot and cold portions disposed between aninner surface of the battery chamber 500 and an outer surface of thebattery chamber 500. The Peltier element is configured to selectivelyheat or cool the battery chamber 600. As discussed, in some embodiments,the heat exchange system 600 further includes a heat sink in thermalcontact with a surface of the Peltier element and in thermal contactwith a heat pipe, such that the heat sink transfers heat between thePeltier element and the heat pipe—this configuration is available ateither the heat absorbing side or the heat rejecting side of the heatexchange system 600. In some embodiments, the heat exchange systemfurther includes a heat sink in thermal contact (e.g., direct thermalcontact) with a surface of the Peltier element. In some embodiments, theheat sink is disposed within the battery chamber 500. In someembodiments, the heat sink is disposed within the enclosure volume.

In some embodiments, the heat absorbing side and rejecting side may bereversed, with the reversal of the voltage polarity. This way the systemcan maintain a stable temperature of the battery chamber 500, and byextension the battery 501. In some embodiments, a controller controlsthe voltage polarity of the Peltier element based on the firsttemperature threshold. In some embodiments, the controller may reversedthe polarity of the Peltier element based on the second temperaturethreshold. In some embodiments, controller monitors the actualtemperature of the Peltier element itself, controls the voltage valueand polarity based on this measurement.

Civil Works

Turning to FIGS. 9 and 10, the enclosure 100 base construction isdescribed. Advantageously, base construction 900 is durable, strong,non-corrosive, and very lightweight. Site specific installation isrendered simple, and is configured to minimize the installation costs,so as to accommodate harsh weathers conditions. Particularly base 900can include container 906 having bottom 904 sidewalls 902. Columns 908can be placed within container 906, positioned substantially vertically,for example outside corners of the container. Container 906 can befilled with site-specific material, such as sand, soil, rocks, etc.columns 908 can support spars 910 between opposing columns 908,respectively, and spars 912 can be supported again respectively, byspars 910. In this configuration, we evenly distributed, and baseconstruction 900 is rendered sufficiently stable.

In contrast to past and methods, no road construction is required, thatis due to the lightweight configuration of base construction 900 the notrequire any special route through the desert, such as the temporaryroad. Additionally, no concrete footing is required, no difficult soworks are required, and the entire base construction may be deposited atthe site using a small truck.

Some embodiments are directed to a method of making a modular enclosure.In some embodiments, the method includes placing a base container 906having a material cavity at a worksite, placing a support column 908within the base container 906 configured to support a spar 908. In someembodiments, the support column 908 extends to at least a height of thebase. The method can include depositing site-based material (SM) withinthe base container 906. In some embodiments, the placing a basecontainer 906 comprises placing a base container 906 comprising apolymer material. In some embodiments, the placing a base containerincludes placing a base container having a material cavity defined by asubstantially planar bottom surface (e.g., ground level “G”), and aplurality of sidewalls extending vertically therefrom. In someembodiments, the depositing the site-based material comprises depositingsite-based material selected from sand, rocks, and soil, and thesite-based material fills a portion of the material cavity volume.

In some embodiments, the method includes removing site-based materialfrom the worksite creating a material void. In some embodiments, thebase container is placed within the material void.

In some embodiments, the method includes placing an environmentalenclosure on one of the support column or spar. In some embodiments, thesupport column is connected to a sidewall of the base container.

In some embodiments, the method includes positioning an array of supportcolumns at peripheral points within the base container, positioning afirst spar relative to a first set of columns, the first spar disposedin a first direction, and positioning a second spar relative to a secondset of columns, the second spar disposed in a second direction. In someembodiments, the first direction is different from the second direction.

Cathodic Protection Controller

Generally, cathodic protection is a way of preventing corrosion of metalstructures in environments A (or in the presence of certain chemicalagents) that may accelerate rusting or other corrosion of a given typeof metal. Galvanic cathodic protection may be employed, in some cases,as a passive cathodic protection method. Galvanic cathodic protection ofa given metal structure may involve coupling additional metal(s) to thegiven metal structure, where any additional metal used is a galvanicanode (i.e., has a lower electrode potential) with respect to the givenmetal structure. Galvanic cathodic protection may cause any additionalmetal to corrode and wear away over time, which may require physicalreplacement of such additional metal(s) in order to maintain a desiredlevel of cathodic protection (CP).

Where direct current can be applied to the given metal structure, adifferent kind of cathodic protection may be achieved. Such impressedcurrent cathodic protection (ICCP) may provide more effective protectionfor the given metal structure than galvanic CP. Yielding furtherimprovement, a DC power source used to apply the direct current to thegiven metal structure may be adjusted for efficiency and efficacy. Suchadjustments may be automated by a smart controller with CP capabilities.Additionally, such a CP controller may be able to detect presence ofcorrosion and corroded locations on a given metal structure. In someembodiments, a CP controller may allow for AC power input.

Benefits of such CP controllers may be realized in extreme environmentsthat often accompany extraction and transportation of oil and gasresources. For example, metal structures and components of oil and/orgas pipelines, equipment for oil/gas production, stimulation, and/orextraction (e.g., drills, beams, pumps, tanks, pipes, manifolds, etc.),or other structures or vessels, especially to be deployed in deserts orat sea (e.g., derricks, workover rigs, casings, semi-submersibleplatforms, hulls, etc.). Any part of the structures, or pipelines, maybe buried underground or submerged undersea, in whole or in part. CPrequirements for land-based applications may differ from sea-basedapplications for any given level of protection desired.

In some embodiments, CP systems can be realized by electrodes, connectedto a cathode (being the given metal structure to be protected) and ananode (being an additional metal structure of a different type that ismore resistant to corrosion than the cathode). Such electrodes of CPsystems can be AC-powered or DC-powered, for ICCP. Cathodes and anodeseach may include at least one terminal for connecting a power source orother power supply via cables or other conductors.

The cables or conductors that connect to cathodes or anodes may beintermediately connected to corresponding terminals of a CP system. Asmart CP system may be configured to regulate DC power with controlledoutput parameters. Additionally, via at least one of a voltmeter,ammeter, ohmmeter, reference electrode, or other instrumentation, atvarious parts of the given metal structure to be protected, the smart CPsystem may be able to determine location(s) of corrosion over time,e.g., on a cathode or also on an anode where possible. Detection may beperformed by at least one algorithm applied to at least one measuredvalue of electrical properties, e.g., at a reference electrode withrespect to other electrodes (cathode and/or anode), or by othermeasurements (e.g., of voltage, current, and/or resistance/conductance)at designated points.

For such controlled output as described above, the smart CP controllercan be configured to adjust output from 0V up to nominal values of 24 V,50 V, 100 V, to list some non-limiting example values, and also toreduce the output potential to 0V, and repeat the process in any patternor cycle. Depending on the condition of the given metal structure, thestate of corrosion, and the length of the given metal structure to beprotected (e.g., pipeline), electrical consumption of the CP system mayvary, especially as may be necessary to prevent corrosion under givenenvironmental conditions or to prevent further corrosion once existingcorrosion has been detected.

Another aspect of smart CP controller is modularity, including withother power controllers for autonomous management of remote equipment,in some example embodiments. Hot-pluggable CP controller modules can beadded to power- and communication-buses, such as included with at leastone maximum power point tracker (MPPT) and/or multi-purposemicrocontroller unit(s), and may be configured to detect other modules(CP controllers or otherwise) automatically (e.g., in a plug-and-playmanner or according to a given specification), adapting controlrelationships and electrical characteristics for redundancy, forexample. For at least this purpose, the modules themselves mayconfigured for galvanic isolation. Thus, multiple CP controllers mayoperate in parallel, in some embodiments, and may be responsive tocentral, federated, or distributed control and/or monitoring, forexample.

In an embodiment of an example system, a solution may be speciallydesigned for cathodic protection. As a result of efficiency optimizationbased on algorithms that adjust power output in response to detectedelectrical characteristics of cathodes, anodes, and/or earth/ground(e.g., via at least one reference electrode), CP controller module(s)may allow for considerable reduction of power consumption and any powersupply or storage (e.g., batteries) that may be used for CP, as well asengineered design of the CP controller itself allowing for significantreduction in size and/or mass of CP controller electronics.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 for intelligentautomated management of a cathodic protection system, according to someembodiments. Method 1100 can be performed by processing logic that maycomprise hardware (e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic,microcode, etc.), software (e.g., instructions executing on a processingdevice), or a combination thereof.

It is to be appreciated that not all steps may be needed to perform theenhanced techniques of the disclosure provided herein. Further, some ofthe steps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order fromthat shown in FIG. 11, and additional steps/operations can be added, aswill be understood by a person of ordinary skill in the art.

While method 1100 shall be described with reference to FIG. 11, method1100 is not limited to this example embodiment. In method 1100, a CPsystem comprising at least one processor coupled to memory storinginstructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor toperform operations or steps such as those described in more detailbelow.

In 1102, a processor such as processor 1304 can determine a length of apipeline to be protected, determine a state of corrosion of the pipelineto be protected, according to an embodiment. In other embodiments, anyother metal structure may be used instead of the pipeline. Such pipelineor other structures may function as a cathode, i.e., structure to beprotected by CP. In some embodiment, the length determination may bemade by electrical, electromagnetic, electromechanical, sonic,ultrasonic, or other equivalent means of measurement. In otherembodiments, length determination may be made by reading data objectsgathered from at least one data store, which may be located in at leastone controller unit, at least one remote server, at least one segment ofthe pipeline (structure), or any combination there of.

In 1104, processor 1304 can determine a state of corrosion of thepipeline to be protected, according to an embodiment. In someembodiment, the length determination may be made by electrical,electromagnetic, electromechanical, sonic, ultrasonic, or otherequivalent means of measurement, to name a few non-limiting examples.One such example may include tracking such measurements over time, e.g.,to detect a later increase in electrical resistance along a particularsegment of pipeline, in an embodiment.

In 1106, processor 1304 can determine a nominal voltage of directcurrent sufficient to prevent further corrosion of the pipeline to beprotected, within a predetermined corrosion tolerance, to name a fewnon-limiting examples. In some embodiments, a higher voltage in someparts of the pipeline (structure), and/or lower voltage in other parts,may be sufficient or necessary to prevent further corrosion, or at leastto reduce risk of further corrosion, in affected parts of the pipelineor cathodic structure. Algorithms to determine this nominal voltage maybe selected and/or adjusted depending on the material of the cathodicstructure, size dimensions (mass, thickness, length, etc.) of thecathodic structure, state of corrosion, etc.

In 1108, processor 1304 can maintain the nominal voltage of the directcurrent within a predetermined voltage tolerance, for example. In orderto maintain a certain nominal voltage, it may be necessary for acontroller or system to adjust the nominal voltage of direct currentfrom 100V to 0V and from 0V to 100V, across one or more CP controllers,for example, according to the determination of 1106. Additionally, thesame or different parts of the one or more CP controllers (e.g.,rectifiers, power supply circuits, etc.) can dynamically adjustelectrical output (AC or DC) to a given voltage level or range. Otherembodiments include setting nominal and output voltages to 50V or 24V,to name a few non-limiting examples, and maintaining the new settingwith corresponding electrical output.

Method 1100 is disclosed in the order shown above in this exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 11. In practice, however, the operations disclosedabove, alongside other operations, may be executed sequentially in anyorder, or they may alternatively be executed concurrently, with morethan one operation being performed simultaneously, or any combination ofthe above. Additionally or alternatively, any simultaneous, concurrent,or sequential operations may be performed simultaneously, concurrently,and/or sequentially, and independently of or dependently on any otheroperation(s) that may be running elsewhere, for example.

In some embodiments, the CP system can further comprise a centralcontrol unit configured to control one or more CP controllers remotely,for example. Additional embodiments of the CP system may include one ormore CP controllers configured to operate in a switched-mode topology.

Further embodiments of the CP system may detect a fault in the pipeline,determine a location of the fault in the pipeline, determine that thefault is a result of at least one of an electrode failure or thecorrosion in the pipeline, send a notification of the fault, andincrease the nominal voltage of the direct current supplied by the atleast one electrode nearest to the location of the fault in thepipeline.

By using the CP controller like integrated part of a smart power storagetransfer architecture and power asset command-and-control architecture,such integrated solutions may be offered to provide remote monitoring ofmultiple parameters and remote control of output current and voltage forrobust and autonomous CP infrastructure. For additional information,see, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/196,906, filedNov. 20, 2018; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/385,627, filed Dec.20, 2016; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/065,543, filed Mar. 9,2016 (now U.S. Pat. No. 9,965,016). Modular structure of CP controllersmay offer advantages at least in terms of reliability, scalability,redundancy, and other aspects especially useful in maintaining CP acrosslong pipelines for oil and/or gas transportation. In combination withthe other features that are presented, the system may be used unattendedand without in any inhospitable environments, even in the event of afault or advanced corrosion in a pipeline or other metal structure to beprotected.

Panel Soiling Detection and Mitigation

According to some embodiments, at least one algorithm may be implementedon at least one microcontroller unit (e.g., in hardware, firmware,software, or any combination thereof) to determine when on-site panels,such as solar panels including photovoltaic cells and arrays thereof,may be soiled such that dust or other foreign matter on or near thesurface of at least one photovoltaic cell interferes with reception oflight at the at least one photovoltaic cell, which may therefore reducethe amount of luminous energy converted to electric energy and/or whichmay reduce efficiency of such conversion. Such obstructions may thusreduce effectively time and/or amount of solar irradiance in a givenday, potentially to a point of being insufficient to deliver a fullchange to storage batteries, for example. For additional information andalternative solutions. For additional information, see, for example,U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/196,906, filed Nov. 20, 2018. Insituations where solar energy is degraded for exceptional circumstances(e.g., weather phenomena, dust storms, eclipses, etc.), added materialssoiling solar panels may further compound the given decrease inavailable solar energy.

While degraded energy sources may be beyond the control of a given powergeneration device or system, automatically detecting and mitigatingpanel soiling may be controlled algorithmically, and may further includeuse of various cleaning techniques and/or devices.

In an embodiment, an algorithm may respond to data received from a solarirradiance sensor providing available power of the sun at some givenmoment, periodically, or the like. Measurement units may, in somenon-limiting examples, be represented in units of watts per square meteror ergs per square centimeter per second, although any physicallyequivalent units may also be used instead. By evaluating areameasurements corresponding to the total surface area (e.g., in squaremeters, square centimeters, etc.) of available solar panels, a smartcontroller may make calculations in accordance with an algorithm, whichmay include a series of calculations, in some embodiments.

In a further embodiment, the algorithm may make a comparison between thetotal available power from the sun and the actual generated power fromthe solar chargers in the system. If there is a significant differencebetween the two values (e.g., exceeding an absolute or proportionalthreshold with respect to the total or actual value), the smartcontroller can send a signal or notification indicating soiling on thesolar panels. The smart controller may further send another signaltrough a channel for remote monitoring, so as to have a maintenance teamdispatched, in some embodiments.

Because the solar irradiance sensor may be placed in the sameenvironmental conditions as the solar panels, the irradiance sensor mayalso be polluted. In order to keep the solar irradiation sensorrelatively clean for more reliable measurements, the system may beconfigured to clean the sensor by an automatic process,electrostatically polarizing the particles attached to the surface ofthe sensor and repelling the particles away using force of electriccharge. By gravity and/or other natural occurrences, such as wind, suchparticles may fall away, such as to the ground. Similar processes may beemployed for cleaning the solar panels themselves, such as in caseswhere maintenance teams may be too remote for convenient dispatch.

Additionally or alternatively, in other embodiments, other automatedmechanical and/or electromagnetic processes may be employed to cleanactive surfaces of the photovoltaic cell(s) and irradiance sensor(s) onor near solar panels. For example, a gas or liquid stream or spray, suchas of forced air, nitrogen gas, water, or a cleansing solution, may beapplied to the surface of an irradiance sensor or photovoltaic cell on asolar panel to carry away any particles or foreign matter obstructingthe optical properties of the surface of a photovoltaic cell orirradiance sensor, in some embodiments.

Depending on sensitivity of a given surface to scratching or otherdamage in contact with foreign objects or particulate impurities fromthe environment, electromechanical devices may be used, e.g., roboticwiping mechanisms with a rubber or fabric interface against a givenirradiance sensor or solar panel, to roll across a given part of asurface (or entire surface), or rotate about a fixed or movable pivotpoint.

On a different scale, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) ormicro-opto-electromechanical systems (MOEMS) may be deployed on affectedsurfaces or integrated therein, to carry away or repel foreignparticulate matter or other impurities actively or passively. Dependingon configuration, such MEMS may respond to signals from the irradiancesensor(s) or from a smart controller, or may respond directly toelectrical, optical, or mechanical detection of a foreign object on theaffected surface.

Such automated systems for cleaning optical elements or other structuresof remote installations that need unattended power delivery allow forconsiderable reductions in maintenance costs and staffing that mayotherwise be required to maintain and operate certain facilities, e.g.,for powering and monitoring activity and health of resource extractionand transportation equipment in various remote or inhospitablelocations. Integration of these technologies and management algorithmstherefor into smart grids and redundant, hot-pluggable controllerarchitectures thus enables further cost-savings and efficiencies ofdeployment and management of underlying infrastructure. For additionalinformation, see, for example, U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/385,627, filed Dec. 20, 2016, and U.S. Pat. No. 9,965,016.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1200 for intelligentautomated management of a cleaning system for optical elements in asolar power generation system, according to some embodiments. Method1200 can be performed by processing logic that may comprise hardware(e.g., circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.),software (e.g., instructions executing on a processing device), or acombination thereof.

It is to be appreciated that not all steps may be needed to perform theenhanced techniques of the disclosure provided herein. Further, some ofthe steps may be performed simultaneously, or in a different order fromthat shown in FIG. 12, as will be understood by a person of ordinaryskill in the art.

While method 1200 shall be described with reference to FIG. 12, method1200 is not limited to this example embodiment. In method 1200, a CPsystem comprising at least one processor coupled to memory storinginstructions that, when executed, cause the at least one processor toperform operations or steps such as those described in more detailbelow.

In 1202, a processor, such as processor 1304, can determine a presenttotal capacity of photovoltaic power generation of the system, to nameone non-limiting examples of a determination or measurement. Otherparameters can be measured or determined, based on capacity of powergeneration, other system parameters, and/or other environmentalconditions, for example.

In 1204, processor 1304 can determine a present actual power measurementof the system, according to an embodiment. In other embodiments, othersystem parameters or actual performance metrics can be determinedinstead of or in addition to actual power measurement.

In 1206, processor 1304 can calculate a difference between the presenttotal capacity and the present actual power measurement of the system,to name one possible non-limiting example of a measurement orcalculation that can be directly or indirectly indicative of panelsoiling. Other calculations may relate to other electromagnetic,optical, chemical, and/or mechanical parameters, for example.

In 1208, processor 1304 can determine that the difference exceeds athreshold value. The threshold value can be a fixed or predeterminedvalue, in some embodiments. In other embodiments, the threshold can bedynamically adjusted to account for astronomical, seasonal, or weatherconditions, to name a few non-limiting examples.

In 1210, processor 1304 can issue a first command in response to thedetermining that the difference exceeds the threshold value. The firstcommand can include a notification, e.g., to an operator or centralcontrol unit, or can be for activation or actuation of additionalsystems that may be needed for automated cleansing (cleaning)process(es).

In 1212, processor 1304 can initiate an automated cleansing process withrespect to at least one photovoltaic cell of the system upon receipt ofa second command from the at least one processor or another processor.The second command can be a signal indicating readiness of additionalsystems that may be needed for the automated cleansing process. If anysuch additional systems provide a particular indication, a secondcommand may not be issued to cause the system or processor 1304 toinitiate the automated cleansing process in such situations. Theparticular indication may be an indication indicate that automatedcleansing is not required or not possible, in some cases. In someembodiments, the particular indication may signify that at least some ofthe additional systems are offline or otherwise not ready, or that thelast instance of automated cleansing is within a predetermined thresholdof elapsed time since the last instance to the present time, to name afew non-limiting examples.

Method 1200 is disclosed in the order shown above in this exemplaryembodiment of FIG. 12. In practice, however, the operations disclosedabove, alongside other operations, may be executed sequentially in anyorder, or they may alternatively be executed concurrently, with morethan one operation being performed simultaneously, or any combination ofthe above. Additionally or alternatively, any simultaneous, concurrent,or sequential operations may be performed simultaneously, concurrently,and/or sequentially, and independently of or dependently on any otheroperation(s) that may be running elsewhere, for example.

In some embodiments, additional steps may be performed, includingelectrostatically polarizing an electrode adjacent to the at least onephotovoltaic cell, electromechanically engaging an irrigation mechanismadjacent to the at least one photovoltaic cell, electromechanicallyreorienting or repositioning the at least one photovoltaic cell withrespect to a fluid current, electromechanically reorienting orrepositioning the at least one photovoltaic cell with respect togravitational acceleration, and/or electromechanically reorienting orrepositioning the at least one photovoltaic cell with respect to ashelter structure. Some of these repositioning operations may beregarded similarly to shaking off impurities, feathering panels into astream of flowing air (wind), or turning panels against such a flow, toincrease wind resistance.

Any embodiments of the methods of method 1100 or method 1200 can beimplemented on a specialized or general-purpose computing deviceconfigured to interface with the physical devices and systems describedabove (e.g., measurement, telemetry, control, communication, etc.).Turning to FIG. 13, one example of such a computing device or computersystem is shown in the drawings and described below.

Example Computer System

Various embodiments may be implemented, for example, using one or morewell-known computer systems, such as computer system 1300 shown in FIG.13. One or more computer systems 1300 can be used, for example, toimplement any of the embodiments discussed herein, as well ascombinations and sub-combinations thereof.

Computer system 1300 can include one or more processors (also calledcentral processing units, or CPUs), such as a processor 1304. Processor1304 can be connected to a communication infrastructure or bus 1306.

Computer system 1300 can include one or more processors (also calledcentral processing units, or CPUs), such as a processor 1304. Processor1304 can be connected to a bus or communication infrastructure 1306.

Computer system 1300 can also include user input/output device(s) 1303,such as monitors, keyboards, pointing devices, etc., which maycommunicate with communication infrastructure 1306 through userinput/output interface(s) 1302.

One or more of processors 1304 can be a graphics processing unit (GPU).In an embodiment, a GPU can be a processor that is a specializedelectronic circuit designed to process mathematically intensiveapplications. The GPU can have a parallel structure that is efficientfor parallel processing of large blocks of data, such as mathematicallyintensive data common to computer graphics applications, images, videos,vector processing, array processing, etc., as well as cryptography(including brute-force cracking), generating cryptographic hashes orhash sequences, solving partial hash-inversion problems, and/orproducing results of other proof-of-work computations for someblockchain-based applications, for example.

Additionally, one or more of processors 1304 can include a coprocessoror other implementation of logic for accelerating cryptographiccalculations or other specialized mathematical functions, includinghardware-accelerated cryptographic coprocessors. Such acceleratedprocessors may further include instruction set(s) for acceleration usingcoprocessors and/or other logic to facilitate such acceleration.

Computer system 1300 can also include a main or primary memory 1308,such as random access memory (RAM). Main memory 1308 can include one ormore levels of cache. Main memory 1308 can have stored therein controllogic (i.e., computer software) and/or data.

Computer system 1300 can also include one or more secondary storagedevices or secondary memory 1310. Secondary memory 1310 can include, forexample, a main storage drive 1312 and/or a removable storage device ordrive 1314. Main storage drive 1312 can be a hard disk drive orsolid-state drive, for example. Removable storage drive 1314 can be afloppy disk drive, a magnetic tape drive, a compact disk drive, anoptical storage device, tape backup device, and/or any other storagedevice/drive.

Removable storage drive 1314 can interact with a removable storage unit1318. Removable storage unit 1318 can include a computer usable orreadable storage device having stored thereon computer software (controllogic) and/or data. Removable storage unit 1318 can be a floppy disk,magnetic tape, compact disk, DVD, optical storage disk, and/any othercomputer data storage device. Removable storage drive 1314 can read fromand/or write to removable storage unit 1318.

Secondary memory 1310 can include other means, devices, components,instrumentalities or other approaches for allowing computer programsand/or other instructions and/or data to be accessed by computer system1300. Such means, devices, components, instrumentalities or otherapproaches may include, for example, a removable storage unit 1322 andan interface 1320. Examples of the removable storage unit 1322 and theinterface 1320 can include a program cartridge and cartridge interface(such as that found in video game devices), a removable memory chip(such as an EPROM or PROM) and associated socket, a memory stick and USBport, a memory card and associated memory card slot, and/or any otherremovable storage unit and associated interface.

Computer system 1300 can further include a communication or networkinterface 1324. Communication interface 1324 can enable computer system1300 to communicate and interact with any combination of externaldevices, external networks, external entities, etc. (individually andcollectively referenced by reference number 1328). For example,communication interface 1324 can allow computer system 1300 tocommunicate with external or remote devices 1328 over communication path1326, which may be wired and/or wireless (or a combination thereof), andwhich may include any combination of LANs, WANs, the Internet, etc.Control logic and/or data can be transmitted to and from computer system1300 via communication path 1326.

Computer system 1300 can also be any of a personal digital assistant(PDA), desktop workstation, laptop or notebook computer, netbook,tablet, smart phone, smart watch or other wearable, appliance, part ofthe Internet of Things (IoT), and/or embedded system, to name a fewnon-limiting examples, or any combination thereof.

It should be appreciated that the framework described herein may beimplemented as a method, process, apparatus, system, or article ofmanufacture such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium or device.For illustration purposes, the present framework may be described in thecontext of distributed ledgers, including blockchain uses.

Computer system 1300 can be a client or server, accessing or hosting anyapplications and/or data through any delivery paradigm, including butnot limited to remote or distributed cloud computing solutions; local oron-premises software (e.g., “on-premise” cloud-based solutions); “as aservice” models (e.g., content as a service (CaaS), digital content as aservice (DCaaS), software as a service (SaaS), managed software as aservice (MSaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), desktop as a service(DaaS), framework as a service (FaaS), backend as a service (BaaS),mobile backend as a service (MBaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS),database as a service (DBaaS), etc.); and/or a hybrid model includingany combination of the foregoing examples or other services or deliveryparadigms.

Any applicable data structures, file formats, and schemas may be derivedfrom standards including but not limited to JavaScript Object Notation(JSON), Extensible Markup Language (XML), Yet Another Markup Language(YAML), Extensible Hypertext Markup Language (XHTML), Wireless MarkupLanguage (WML), MessagePack, XML User Interface Language (XUL), or anyother functionally similar representations alone or in combination.Alternatively, proprietary data structures, formats or schemas may beused, either exclusively or in combination with known or open standards.

Any pertinent data, files, and/or databases may be stored, retrieved,accessed, and/or transmitted in human-readable formats such as numeric,textual, graphic, or multimedia formats, further including various typesof markup language, among other possible formats. Alternatively or incombination with the above formats, the data, files, and/or databasesmay be stored, retrieved, accessed, and/or transmitted in binary,encoded, compressed, and/or encrypted formats, or any othermachine-readable formats.

Interfacing or interconnection among various systems and layers mayemploy any number of mechanisms, such as any number of protocols,programmatic frameworks, floorplans, or application programminginterfaces (API), including but not limited to Document Object Model(DOM), Discovery Service (DS), NSUserDefaults, Web Services DescriptionLanguage (WSDL), Message Exchange Pattern (MEP), Web Distributed DataExchange (WDDX), Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group(WHATWG) HTMLS Web Messaging, Representational State Transfer (REST orRESTful web services), Extensible User Interface Protocol (XUP), SimpleObject Access Protocol (SOAP), XML Schema Definition (XSD), XML RemoteProcedure Call (XML-RPC), or any other mechanisms, open or proprietary,that may achieve similar functionality and results.

Such interfacing or interconnection may also make use of uniformresource identifiers (URI), which may further include uniform resourcelocators (URL) or uniform resource names (URN). Other forms of uniformand/or unique identifiers, locators, or names may be used, eitherexclusively or in combination with forms such as those set forth above.

Any of the above protocols or APIs can interface with or be implementedin any programming language, procedural, functional, or object-oriented,and may be assembled, compiled, or interpreted. Non-limiting examplesinclude assembly language for any given controller or processorarchitecture, C, C++, C #, Objective-C, Java, Swift, Go, Ruby, Perl,Python, JavaScript, WebAssembly, or virtually any other language, withany other libraries or schemas, in any kind of framework, runtimeenvironment, virtual machine, interpreter, stack, engine, or similarmechanism, including but not limited to Node.js, V8, Knockout, jQuery,Dojo, Dijit, OpenUI5, AngularJS, Express.js, Backbone.js, Ember.js,DHTMLX, Vue, React, Electron, and so on, among many other non-limitingexamples.

In some embodiments, a tangible, non-transitory apparatus or article ofmanufacture comprising a tangible, non-transitory computer useable orreadable medium having control logic (software) stored thereon may alsobe referred to herein as a computer program product or program storagedevice. This includes, but is not limited to, computer system 1300, mainmemory 1308, secondary memory 1310, and removable storage units 1318 and1322, as well as tangible articles of manufacture embodying anycombination of the foregoing. Such control logic, when executed by oneor more data processing devices (such as computer system 1300), maycause such data processing devices to operate as described herein.

Based on the information contained in this disclosure, it will beapparent to persons skilled in the relevant art(s) how to make and useembodiments of this disclosure using data processing devices, computersystems and/or computer architectures other than that shown in FIG. 13.In particular, embodiments may operate with software, hardware, and/oroperating system implementations other than those described herein.

CONCLUSION

The Summary and Abstract sections can set forth one or more but not allexemplary embodiments of the present disclosure as contemplated by theinventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limit the present disclosureand the appended claims in any way.

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fullyreveal the general nature of the disclosure that others can, by applyingknowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt forvarious applications such specific embodiments, without undueexperimentation, without departing from the general concept of thepresent invention.

Features of each embodiment disclosed may be used in each of the otherembodiments disclosed.

Therefore, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be withinthe meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, basedon the disclosure and guidance presented herein. It is to be understoodthat the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose ofdescription and not of limitation, such that the terminology orphraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by theskilled artisan in light of the disclosure and guidance.

It is to be appreciated that the Detailed Description section, and notany other section, is intended to be used to interpret the claims. Othersections may set forth one or more but not all exemplary embodiments ascontemplated by the inventor(s), and thus, are not intended to limitthis disclosure or the appended claims in any way.

While this disclosure describes exemplary embodiments for exemplaryfields and applications, it should be understood that the disclosure isnot limited thereto. Other embodiments and modifications thereto arepossible, and are within the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Forexample, and without limiting the generality of this paragraph,embodiments are not limited to the software, hardware, firmware, and/orentities illustrated in the figures and/or described herein. Further,embodiments (whether or not explicitly described herein) havesignificant utility to fields and applications beyond the examplesdescribed herein.

Embodiments have been described herein with the aid of functionalbuilding blocks illustrating the implementation of specified functionsand relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional buildingblocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of thedescription. Alternate boundaries may be defined as long as thespecified functions and relationships (or equivalents thereof) areappropriately performed. Also, alternative embodiments may performfunctional blocks, steps, operations, methods, etc. using orderingsdifferent from those described herein.

References herein to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an exampleembodiment,” “some embodiments,” or similar phrases, indicate that theembodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but every embodiment may not necessarily include theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrasesare not necessarily referring to the same embodiment.

Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic isdescribed in connection with an embodiment, it would be within theknowledge of persons skilled in the relevant art(s) to incorporate suchfeature, structure, or characteristic into other embodiments whether ornot explicitly mentioned or described herein. Additionally, someembodiments may be described using the expression “coupled” and“connected” along with their derivatives. These terms are notnecessarily intended as synonyms for each other. For example, someembodiments may be described using the terms “connected” and/or“coupled” to indicate that two or more elements are in direct physicalor electrical contact with each other. The term “coupled,” however, mayalso mean that two or more elements are not in direct contact with eachother, but yet still co-operate or interact with each other.

The breadth and scope of the disclosure should not be limited by any ofthe above-described exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

1-20. (canceled)
 21. An environmental enclosure, comprising: sidewallsdefining an enclosure volume, each of the sidewalls having an internallyfacing surface and an externally facing surface; a variable air intakedisposed in a sidewall of the enclosure defining an air inlet for anairflow path; a baffle extending from a top internally facing surfacetowards a lower internally facing surface, configured such that a firstportion of air contamination is directed to the floor of the enclosurevolume; a battery chamber; and a cyclone system disposed downstream ofthe baffle, the cyclone system comprising; an air intake configured toreceive an air volume having a second portion of air contamination; acyclone generating zone; a first conical outlet configured to remove thesecond portion of air contamination; and a second outlet disposed withinthe first conical outlet and coupled to an air inlet of a batterychamber, wherein the second outlet provides clean air to the batterychamber.
 22. The environmental enclosure of claim 21, wherein thevariable air intake is disposed behind a solar shield connected to theexternally facing surface of a sidewall.
 23. The environmental enclosureof claim 21, wherein the variable air intake is configured to open inresponse to a first gage air pressure threshold.
 24. The environmentalenclosure of claim 23, wherein the first gage air pressure threshold ismeasured at a location selected from within the battery chamber, withinthe enclosure volume, or external to the enclosure volume.
 25. Theenvironmental enclosure of claim 23, wherein the variable air intake isconfigured to close in response to a second gage air pressure threshold.26. The environmental enclosure of claim 25, wherein the second gage airpressure threshold is measured at a location selected from within thebattery chamber, within the enclosure volume, or external to theenclosure volume.
 27. The environmental enclosure of claim 21, furthercomprising: a fan disposed within the battery chamber configured toprovide a suction pressure to introduce clean air into the batterychamber.
 28. The environmental enclosure of claim 27, wherein the fan isconfigured to be put into an off-state in response to the variable airintake being closed.
 29. The environmental enclosure of claim 21,further comprising a cleaning system configured to automatically removethe first portion of air contamination from the enclosure volume. 30.The environmental enclosure of claim 21, wherein the baffle extendsdownward from the top internally facing surface about between about 20%and 90% of the height of the enclosure volume.
 31. The environmentalenclosure of claim 21, further comprising a plurality of cyclonesystems, wherein a subset of air intakes of the cyclone systems areconfigured to close in response to a threshold gage air pressure beingdetected in the enclosure volume.
 32. The environmental enclosure ofclaim 21, wherein the air intake of the cyclone system is disposedsubstantially horizontally, and wherein the first conical outlet andsecond conical outlet are positioned substantially normal thereto. 33.The environmental enclosure of claim 21, wherein the air intake of thecyclones system is disposed between about 5% and 50% below the height ofthe enclosure volume as measured from the top internally facing surface.34. The environmental enclosure of claim 21, further comprising: acontamination collection vessel that is removable from the enclosurevolume.
 35. A cyclone system configured to remove contamination fromheat exchange system airflow, the cyclone system comprising; an airintake configured to receive an air volume flow, wherein the air volumeflow comprises particulate contamination; a cyclone generating zoneconfigured to allow the air volume flow to flow along a cyclonic paththerethrough; a first outlet configured to remove at least some of theparticulate contamination flowing through the cyclone generating zone;and a second outlet configured to allow at least some of the air volumeflow to exit the cyclone system, wherein air volume flow through thesecond outlet comprises less particulate contamination than the airvolume flow received at the air intake.
 36. The cyclone system of claim35, wherein the air intake of the cyclone system is disposedsubstantially horizontally, and wherein the first outlet is conical. 37.The cyclone system of claim 36, wherein the second outlet extendsthrough a conical surface of the first outlet to exit the cyclonesystem.
 38. The cyclone system of claim 35, wherein the air intakecloses in response to a threshold gage air pressure being detected inthe enclosure volume.
 39. The cyclone system of claim 35, whereinairspeed within the cyclone generating zone is at least about 10 metersper second (“m/s”).
 40. The cyclone system of claim 35, wherein relativeairspeed, relative gage air pressure, or a combination thereof, betweenthe air intake and the cyclone generating zone, is calibrated to apredetermined ratio. 41-83. (canceled)